


Home Sweet Home

by Freedom_Shamrock



Series: MiraculousFluffMonth 2018 [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), F/M, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, Miraculous Fluff Month
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-02
Updated: 2018-10-22
Packaged: 2019-06-20 14:31:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15536325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freedom_Shamrock/pseuds/Freedom_Shamrock
Summary: Marinette and Adrien navigate their relatively new official relationship, university, superhero duties, and their first apartment together.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This picks up where my Love Square Week 2016 story "Chat as Chat Can" left off. You don't have to go back to the old stuff to enjoy this, but there may be some details that feel like inside jokes in that case.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Adrien are settling into their new loft apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is for the ML Fluff Month day 1 prompt, roommates.

Marinette tucked the last of her clothes into her dresser, closing it with a thump that somehow felt momentous. She stood up and looked around her bedroom as the satisfaction of completing a large task settled over her.

The room was smaller than the one she had at her parents', but all her important things were here, and it felt like her space. She'd only be sleeping and changing in here; all her sewing stuff was down a the brightly lit corner between the kitchen and living room, which was a huge change. But she liked it. She had two full walls to decorate, a wall with a door, and a half wall with a sliding window that looked down into the living room. When it came to picking rooms, it had been easy. Adrien got the one with an outside wall and actual window, and she opted for the shielded warmer room. She really liked the way the internal windows allowed her to keep the room closed and cozy feeling, or open to the rest of the apartment. Right now, the window was open, so she went to lean on it.

Their living room was the staging area for boxes of books, sewing paraphernalia, and kitchen things. They were expecting delivery of new living room furnishings tomorrow, as a housewarming gift from Gabriel. They had dinner scheduled with him at restaurant well out of Marinette's price range when he returned from Milan next week.  She was doing her best not to panic. It wasn't like he could make Adrien come back home or hurt her budding career, but she didn't want to make things harder for her Kitty.

"Hey Bug." His voice was soft, and she looked over to see him leaning on his sliding bedroom window in the same way.

She couldn't remember a time when he looked so relaxed and content. Was it possible that he was already happier, even though he hadn't been out of his father's mansion for a full day yet? "You all unpacked?" she asked. Her parents and their friends had helped haul and carry their boxes, but Marinette and Adrien both wanted to do the unpacking themselves.  It was summer break, so they had the time.

"In here, yes." He threw her a smirk straight out of his Chat Noir repertoire. "And only because you're a designer, and have made so many clothes for yourself. We may have to rethink clothing storage when we're ready to share a room."

Several people, including her parents, found it odd that they'd chosen to have their own rooms, separated by the staircase. They'd been friends for years, both as superheroes and as their civilian selves, and their behavior the last six months could best be described as casually dating, but they'd only been official for a little over a month. Their partnership and friendship were both so important, that they'd decided to find their way through their romantic relationship in their own way without external timelines.

"Ready to tackle downstairs, then?" she asked.

"Plagg, claws out!" There was a flash of green and Chat Noir was flipping out of Adrien's bedroom to land below. He posed majestically for a moment.  "Claws in." He grinned up at her. "Come on, My Lady. Lots to do down here."

She giggled at his completely unnecessary use of his powers.  "You're so silly." She opted to take the stairs down, though Tikki went out the bedroom window to meet her below.  "I like it."

He pulled her close, nuzzling her neck, and her hands automatically slipped into his hair. "I love our new place. It's purrfect."

She giggled again, both at his pun and in response to the nuzzles. "Not sure about perfect, but…"

"No it is," he insisted. "We picked it, and it's already starting to feel like home."  He straightened up and beamed at her. "Plus it has you, so I'm pretty sure it can't get better."

"I'm not going to need my Cheer Up Chat kit much anymore, am I?" She didn't feel remotely bad about that.

"Pffft," Plagg interjected.  "My Kitten is dramatic. You'll totally need it."

Adrien rolled his eyes. "He's exaggerating.  But it's such a nice blanket, a really nice reminder that you care about me, I'd hate to stop seeing it completely."

"We can repurpose it," she suggested, reaching up to lightly tap his nose.  "It can now double as my Cuddle Chat kit."

"Yes!" he agreed, enthusiastically looking around their living room.  "Let's get some of this unpacked and moved around so we can use it in our living room tonight."

"Oh, great idea."  She loved it. Spending their first evening in their new apartment cuddling seemed like a perfect  end to the day.

"Excellent."  Adrien nodded.  "Now Let's set up your sewing machine."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien's had a rough day, but Marinette has just the thing to cheer up her Chat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is for the ML Fluff Month day 15 prompt, bubble bath.

Marinette was pinning fabric pieces together when the apartment door opened, followed by a familiar groan. Adrien had been gone for a photo shoot for hours now, one that had obviously gone badly given its duration and the lack of silly between outfit texts.

"You okay, Kitty?" she called, pinching the slippery chiffon pieces together.

He moaned, and it sounded straight out of Chat Noir's pain handbook.

"He's being a little dramatic," Plagg said, zipping into the room as his holder removed his shoes, if the gentle thumps from the entry were any clue.  "But that shoot was an impressive shitshow. I'm going to grab a snack in case someone gets akumatized as a result of it."

Dropping her project, Marinette got up, scanning the area for pins as she moved. Finding her phone, she made sure the Akumalert app was on and the volume was up.

"Why did I agree to keep modeling?" Adrien asked, rolling sideways over the back of the couch to flop on the furniture. His father had gone all out, shipping them the entire living room set they were looking at, and he'd surely be appalled by his son's abuse of it.

Smiling softly, she pocketed her phone and crossed the room toward him.  She'd set up her work area in a corner of the open floor plan between the dining area and the living room space. Her bare feet moved from hardwood to the carpet they'd used to demarcate the change from one space to another. "You're trying to keep a connection with your father, remember?" She settled in front of him on the couch, balanced on one buttcheek. He shifted onto his side and reached out to pull her closer. "And you promised to keep it up while you went to school."

"Oh yeah," he murmured. "Those are good reasons." He sighed.

"I'm not sure I agree, but it's your choice to make."  She settled one hand on his shoulder and the other in his hair.  "It would be nice if your father could appreciate you for who you are, letting you explore your interests rather than making you be a part of his."

"Yeah. I know," he said in a low voice. "But not everyone is lucky enough to have parents like yours." He opened his eyes and looked up at her. "I know that if I don't do this for now, I'll regret it."

Marinette nodded. "I know." It was ultimately why she didn't actively try to encourage him to quit. "I just don't like to see you like this."

He sniffed disdainfully. "I'll have you know that the rest of Paris would  **love** to see me like this." He gestured grandly to his body sprawled over the green upholstery.

He was ridiculous, and she loved that about him. "You are rather easy on the eyes," she admitted. "And to be fair, not all shoots suck the energy out of you."

"Seriously, that's the only reason I haven't quit." His hand squeezed her hip a little. "I know father is unreasonable and weird. I get that our relationship is fucked up. But I  **do** think he's trying. So I'll do my part to show that I'm willing to fix things, and as long as it's mostly tolerable, I'll be able to keep it up for a bit."

"You have very odd definitions of tolerable." She leaned in to kiss the tip of his nose. "Is there anything I can do to help you recover from today's awfulness?  You need to vent or anything?" Back when they didn't know identities sometimes it helped him to get things off his chest, but other times he couldn't bear to rehash what couldn't be fixed anyway. That had all gotten easier now that he didn't have to censor out potentially identifying details.

"Give me like five minutes and make me stretch," he suggested.  "Everything feels tight and stiff."

"Ooh!" Marinette jumped up and dashed to the closet ignoring his whining at the loss of cuddly girlfriend. "I have just the thing for you." She rummaged until she found the box. "Oh Kitty,  you're gonna love this." She returned to the living room with a green plastic bin. It had rounded corners and a handle, like a basic makeup case. She'd decorated it with black paw prints.

"What is that?" Adrien asked, sitting up to get a better look.

She beamed at him. "It's my Cheer up Chat kit, spa edition." She placed it on his lap and lifted the latch. Once it was open, displaying a collection of store-bought and homemade products, she eagerly pointed to a bottle.  "You need to start with that."

He had a small smile on his face, delight mixed with amazement, as he took it out. She loved making him look like that. "Bubble bath?" He met her eyes. "I haven't had a bubble bath since I was a kid."

"Yeah, I know." It had come up one evening when she and Tikki had spent over an hour luxuriating in the deep freestanding tub their apartment happened to have. "You're never allowed the time to do this sort of thing. But that changes now."

His fingers lightly touched the other bottles.  "What else is in here?"

"I'll give you a backrub after your soak," she promised, taking the bin and setting it on their new coffee table. "You can browse all you like then." She held out a hand. "Give me that and I'll get your bath started while you find something comfy for after."

Instead of handing her the bottle of bubble bath, Adrien caught her hand and brought it to his lips. "You're amazing, and I love you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 30 minute speedwrite
> 
> The next two prompts will also be part of this story.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette is nervous about dinner with Gabriel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is for the ML Fluff Month day 17, leap of faith

Marinette stepped back from the full length mirror and fidgeted a little. Her dress was pink with black accents, so colors she was comfortable in, and she admitted it was very flattering. The half volume petticoat fluffed out the skirt just enough to ensure the dress didn't hang limply on her, while giving it a bit of a swish.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked, glancing up to Adrien's open bedroom window. She could see white sleeves in the air as he moved, probably brushing his hair.

He came over to the window and looked down, his bright happy expression clear from the lower level. "Positive." He took a moment, seeming to just savor looking at her. "I mean, have you really looked at yourself? You look amazing." He vanished from the window, and moments later he was silently descending the stairs on sock feet. "First of all, pink is perfect," he pointed out. "It looks great on you, of course, but it also hints at your sweetness. I'm not sure we can convince my father you're not using me to launch your career, but any subliminal reinforcement would be good." With his hands on her shoulders, he turned her to face the mirror again. "I've never seen anything quite like this dress, and you  **know** I've seen a lot of clothes."

She looked at their reflection, her chest going a little tight at how perfect they looked next to each other. She loved how well they suited each other. He was wearing a white shirt and black suit jacket. It was paired with a pink tie and pocket square she'd made to match her dress, at his request.

"We look nice together." He looked so happy. "Now completely objectively," he said, gesturing at their reflection. "We're presenting a united front, literally  **and** metaphorically." He rested his hand on her shoulder. "I'm all serious business." He rolled his eyes before assuming the focused expression that went with all his business suit shoots. It was firm, but more approachable than what she'd seen on his father's face. "And you're a breath of fresh air.  Sweet, alluring, and gentle."

"You know your father's aware of all the visual tricks and symbolism, right?" she asked. "I don't think we'll be able to win him over  **that** easily."

He chuckled. "Not consciously," he agreed. "But any little bit helps." He shrugged. "Father doesn't want to push me away. He's trying to make nice." He smirked. "He's not very good at it yet."

She giggled, leaning on his chest. "Fair point."

He bent to rest his chin on her shoulder. "You don't need to be nervous," he whispered. "I don't care what he thinks of you. I've been in love with you forever."

She met his eyes in the mirror. "Forever?"

He tucked his face into her neck, but she could still see the reddening of his ears. He mumbled something that might have been an explanation, but she couldn't quite understand.

"Hey." She twisted to face him. "You don't need to hide."

She felt him take a deep breath before he straightened back up. "I first fell in love with you when we were fighting Stoneheart. When you sassed at Hawkmoth's creepy butterfly face and saved Ivan and Mylene." He ran two fingers down her cheek. "It was more infatuation than love, I realized that eventually. But in the last few years, it happened for real. We were spending so much time together, not just when there were akumas."

She hugged him, careful not to brush her face against his shirt since she'd already finished her makeup. "So you're saying I don't need to be afraid of your father anymore?"

He nodded. "But I'm also not asking you to like him. We kind of have to do this to keep the paparazzi off our backs and the Agreste name out of the tabloids."

"I'm doing this for  **you** , not your father or your family name," Marinette pointed out. "You're happier here than I've seen you in… ever. I see how much you want to try to make things work with him, and while there's really not anything I can do to help you with that, I can be here for you." She glanced off to the side, feeling sheepish. "But it probably will help if you hold my hand, because I am kind of terrified of him and what he could do to my fashion career if he hated me."

"Pffft." Adrien leaned in and kissed her forehead. "You're wickedly talented, Milady. My father may seem powerful, but he's just a man. And he's bad tempered enough, that I doubt other fashion houses would care what he thinks of you."

"Really?" His words sounded much more realistic than the worries that had been flitting through her head for the last two hours. "I'm trusting you here."

"I've got your back, Bug."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next prompt is the next chapter, so I'm going to try to hammer that out after the kids go to sleep. It was a rough work day and that would make me feel like I accomplished SOMETHING.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner with Gabriel who loves his son and isn't evil, though he's terrible at the single father thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is for the ML Fluff Month day 18, a special gift

Dinner had gone impossibly well. Adrien wasn't quite sure how it happened, and he was a little worried he'd used up his entire year's worth of good fortune, but he couldn't quite bring himself to care. After the introductions, or rather reintroductions, since his father had met Marinette during competitions and the few events he managed to be present for, conversation was hesitant and cool. He could practically see his father setting aside topics that would come off confrontational. To be fair, it was in his father's interest to appear welcoming to Adrien's girlfriend, and he knew full well that image was the greatest motivator in all of his father's public behavior. Now, however, Marinette was holding her own in a discussion with his father regarding of the virtues of using a particular stitch on a particular fabric, all of which went over his head.

He watched them as they talked, perfectly content to be left out of this particular conversation. He knew what clothes looked and felt good, but the design side had never interested him. Warm joy bubbled up in his chest. This was the most engaged he'd seen his father at a meal since he was twelve. Even if it wasn't directed at him, Adrien liked it.

"I'm going to go powder my nose," Marinette said, briefly excusing herself. She reached down and squeezed Adrien's shoulder as she passed him.

With her gone, the familiar silence settled between Adrien and his father. For others it would have felt tense and uncomfortable, but it was so normal for them at this point.

His father took a breath that was audible over the conversation and clinking noises of the restaurant, and Adrien looked up. Was this when his father would get difficult, demanding he move home? He didn't think that would happen in public, but he could never be sure what his father was thinking.

"Though it pains me to admit it," his father said slowly. "I approve."

Adrien stared at him for a moment. 

His father arched one perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "I appreciate your surprise, but gawking at me like that will not reflect well upon your image." His lips twitched as though he were fighting off a smile.

Adrien didn't bother trying to school his happiness off his face. "You really approve of her?" He'd been hoping for tolerance, and at times he suspected that was too high a bar.

"I do," his father agreed. "She's very knowledgeable, and as you previously noted, her skill is strong enough that she doesn't need you to advance her career. I apologize for suggesting it previously."

Adrien nodded. "In nearly anyone else, it would've been a fair question, I suppose."

His father shook his head. "Your taste in friends… while it doesn't always coincide with mine, is quite good, Adrien. Somehow you've surrounded yourself with people who are unphased by your fame and wealth, rather than being drawn in by it."

Adrien had to force himself not to joke about his father being possessed or replaced by an alien. "Thank you, father."

"She's good for you." His father spoke softly. "Moving in with her… seems to have been the right choice for you." He sighed. "It's occurred to me recently that I don't know when I last saw you genuinely happy." He looked up and nodded slightly, a standard cue for Adrien.

He turned his head to see Marinette crossing the restaurant to them. Someone who didn't look dressed nearly nice enough to be in this establishment stepped into her path, and Adrien fought the urge to leap up and save her.though he didn't recognize the man, he was obviously a reporter. Flashing a dazzling smile, Marinette easily extricated herself from him. 

"That was deftly managed," his father said he held her chair for her.

"Fortunately, he wasn't too pushy," Marinette said. "And I admit, I've gotten a little coaching from friends of mine in the media."

Adrien wondered if that was true, or if it was her Ladybug practice that helped her out. She was still best friends with Alya, and her maman was friends with Nadja Chamack.

"A wise precaution," his father said with a nod. He reached into the pocket inside his jacket. "There's something I'd like you to have, Miss Marinette." He pulled out a square jewelry box and placed it on the table in front of her. "This belonged to Adrien's mother."

She turned to Adrien in surprise, her blue eyes wide. While he'd expected his father to bring a gift, he didn't think it would have significance. He idly wondered if there was a less meaningful token in one of his father's other pockets. It wouldn't surprise him, given his father's insistence on being prepared. Adrien smiled and gestured for her to open the box.

On her first attempt, the hinges resisted, snapping the box closed on her fingers. "Oops," she muttered, giggling as she tried again. "Oh," she gasped. She looked up at his father. "A… are you  **sure** , sir?"

Nested on velvet, it's woven pearl chain carefully looped, lay a red and platinum pendant that Adrien remembered his mother wearing. He'd never been sure if the design was a wave or a flower petal, dripping diamonds. It was perfect for his Lady, though it didn't match her current dress and he could see her designing something just to pair with it.

His father nodded, a gentle smile Adrien hadn't seen in years slowly appearing on his face. "I've no doubt Emilie would have wanted you to have it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 30 minute speed write
> 
> Sorry for dropping a bit farther behind again. Life and work have conspired against me! The work thing is good, I like to have lots of clients because that means I get paid! The life thing is mostly the "holy crap the kids go back to school in two weeks!" stuff, so nothing awful, just busy.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien is startled awake in the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a delayed response to fluff August day 24, early hours.

Adrien was yanked out of a peaceful night's sleep by a strangled shout. He was out of bed and looking frantically around the room without even realizing he'd moved. His kwami-blessed vision allowed him to catch most of the details in the darkness.  He leaned to peer out his bedroom window into the rest of the flat, but nothing was moving down below either. He stood frozen for a moment, holding his breath and closing his eyes. His extra sensitive ears strained in the pre-dawn stillness. He picked up muffled sniffles, and once again was moving without even planning to.

He slowly crept over the carpet into the tiny hall that connected his room to Marinette's and the stairs down. Though still very quiet, the sounds of distress grew, and he picked up Tikki's voice now.

"It's okay, Marinette," the kwami of creation whispered. Were he anyone else, he never would have heard the soft sounds. "It was just a bad dream. Everything's fine. Just breathe with me."

Marinette mumbled something utterly incoherent, an unfamiliar whine covering her words. 

"Breathe, Marinette," Tikki said, a little louder now. "I need you to listen to me."

The worry in her voice was all it took for Adrien to abandon his stealth entirely.  Usually he wanted to respect the privacy of her personal space, but this wasn't a typical situation. He moved swiftly to her bedside. She was sitting upright, curled over her lap, her face buried in a pillow. "Princess?" he said, keeping his voice low to avoid startling her. "I'm here for you. How can I help?"

She pulled her face out of her pillow and looked up at him. Her face was wet from tears and she was clearly not breathing right.  "Aah, ebbybobby id de fiah!" she howled.

He blinked, trying to parse her words.

"She had a nightmare," Tikki explained.

"Do you know what it was about?" He sat on the edge of her bed, inching toward her. Everything about her reaction screamed out for him to hold her.

"No," Tikki said. "But I think it may have involved a fire."

Instead of flinching away, his girlfriend practically launched herself into his arms. "Oh Princess," he murmured, gathering her close and wrapping them both in her blanket, not because the warmth was needed, but because the closeness and comfort very much was.

"Fiah," Marinette mumbled, nodding as she pressed her face into his chest.

"I've got you, M'lady." He rubbed her back, holding her trembling frame as tightly as he dared. He glanced up at the kwami still floating above them. "Does this happen often?"

Tikki hesitated, then shook her head. "I wouldn't call it often, and it usually pairs up with a particularly bad akuma battle. The ones where we lose you for a bit." Her big luminous eyes were sad. "But since you've been dating, it's been much less." She looked down at the young woman. "She may not actually be awake right now. These are sometimes… more like night terrors."

Adrien frowned.

"I'm sorry she didn't tell you," Tikki went on. "Like I said, it's been better, so we both thought that your presence helped, so it didn't need to be brought up."

"I'm not angry at her." He sighed.  It was true, though. He was sad she'd felt it necessary to keep her pain to herself, but he was in no position to criticize anyone for that sort of thing.  "Or you."

Tikki floated close to nuzzle him. "Thank you for understanding."

"Is this a common Ladybug problem, or is it unique to Marinette?" He'd been surprised to find how often things like this were somehow related to their magic.

"It's not unheard of," Tikki said. "My bugs tend to have to watch our cats get hurt a lot. And it really does get better once Plagg's holders and mine get together. You just naturally soothe her. It's like the heat thing."

Hoping not to upset his girlfriend further, he turned his head toward her bedroom door.  "Hey Plagg, I know you're awake in there. Could you please come here?"

Tikki tilted her head.

"Awww," Plagg whined, drifting in quickly enough that he'd obviously just been lurking right outside the room. "I was having the most beautiful dream about brie."

Adrien shifted around on the bed, getting more comfortable while still holding Marinette on his lap. She'd stopped shaking, but her hold on him suggested he was here for keeps. He lightly patted the back of Marinette's neck. "Could you please come here and lend us your purr?"

Plagg let out a huge dramatic sigh. "Oh fine. But only because she makes me those little fondue bread things." 

Adrien knew better. Plagg liked to pretend to be cold and uncaring, but deep down he loved Adrien and Tikki, and he'd shown a definite soft spot for Marinette. "You too, Tikki," he suggested. "With all of us cuddling her, she'll be fine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 30 minute speed write, sitting in the hall outside Chinese dance class. 
> 
> I live!!! I really meant to get the fluff stories all done in August (or very early September), but I took a couple of big jobs with short timelines and got wickedly busy. Things are calming down now, so I want to get these wrapped up and see if I can get a little fall writing done. Next prompt will also be in this storyline.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morning snuggles and discussion after Marinette's nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a delayed response to fluff August day 25, bed sharing

Marinette woke abruptly, realizing all at once that she felt well-rested and that she wasn't alone in her bed.  There were warm spots on the back of her neck and head, one of which was purring. She could smell Adrien and was only partially surprised when she opened her eyes to find him propped up on pillows under her.

Careful not to dislodge the kwamis, she moved a hand to his shoulder, her thumb slowly sliding back and forth as she committed the moment to her memory.  Since moving in together, there had been an increase in the important little things, each of which ended up on a slip of paper added to the jar on her dresser.

"Hmm," Adrien murmured, and she smiled at the way his voice sounded with her head against his neck.  There was a vibration, not unlike a purr, and she liked it a lot. "Morning Princess."

She realized his arms were around her waist when he gave her a bit of a squeeze.  Somehow she'd not noticed that. "You're a delightful full body pillow."

The jumping of his chest jostled her as he laughed.

"I hope it's comfortable for you, too," she said.  It wasn't the first time they'd ended up like this, especially since the reveal, but it usually involved an akuma and hypothermic Ladybug.

"I kind of love it when you sprawl on me," he admitted.  One of his hands rubbed up and down her back. "Plagg says it's my inner cat, but I think it has more to do with being touch starved."

She tightened her hand on his shoulder.  "Well I'm happy to do this any time you need." He'd been so much more at peace lately, and while she knew moving out of the mansion had been a big help in that regard, she hoped she could claim responsibility for a tiny bit as well.

"Purrfect," he whispered before pressing a kiss to her head.  "How are you feeling this morning?" Uh oh, that was his worried tone.  "And do you even remember me coming in here?"

She thought hard for a moment, but just drew a big blank.  She slowly shook her head, reaching up when Tikki started to slip over her hair.  Cradling her kwami awkwardly, she shifted, then put a hand over Plagg before he could fall.

Adrien gently divested her of both creatures, settling them in a dip in the blankets beside him. "So you don't remember having a bad dream?" he asked, his hands reaching out to run down her arms.  "Something about a fire?"

"Oh," she said softly.  Now that he mentioned it, she had a vague recollection of hot flames and grief. She'd really hoped those were gone now that she knew who and where he was. "I don't really remember anything about it.  I must not have woken up enough. Uhm… Tikki says that happens sometimes, and it's, uh, normal. For her Ladybugs."

Adrien nodded.  "I'm not angry or hurt," he said. "I would've liked to know, but I understand."

Marinette sagged against him, relieved. For some reason her eyes were tearing up. "I'm sorry."

She felt him sigh. "Bug, please. I promise it's okay." His arms were around her again, making her feel safe in a way only he could. "We're still both new at this, and I'm sure there are things I should be telling you that I'm not."

"How do we figure out when's the right time?" she asked. "I don't want to overshare and share you off."

He snorted. "Not possible."

"Adrieeeen," she whined.

"But your point is fair," he agreed. "We've been close friends for a while, and we've shared a lot. This other part of our relationship is still new enough that it would be… weird to share everything."

"We're going to make mistakes," she said.

He nodded. "And we both need to just be okay with that."

"Yeah," she agreed. It was really nice to be with him like this, quietly resting in close contact.

After a moment of silence, he spoke again. "It was really upsetting to see you the way you were last night."

"Oh… I'm sorry about that," she said. Tikki hadn't really told her much about what it was like to observe her nightmares, or terrors, or whatever they were.

He shook his head. "No, that's not... " He sighed. "I don't want you to feel bad about it.  You have no control over it."

She sat up a little, keeping her eyes on his chest, because she was too embarrassed to meet his eyes.

"What I wanted to say, or ask, rather, is if there's anything that helps," he said. "I don't like the idea of you going through that, even if you don't remember it the next day."

"Oh." That wasn't what she was expecting.

"I want to help you, Bug."  He scooped up her hands and gave them a squeeze.

He was such a wonderful person, and she wondered how she deserved him. She cautiously lifted her head. "You're already helping," she said. She reached out to caress his cheek with her fingertips. "It got a little better when we started spending time together outside of Akuma battles.  Then it got a lot better when I got to see who my partner really was." She smiled at him. "I kind of thought it wouldn't happen anymore now that we live together… well, unless we have a bad akuma attack. Those will probably always mess with me." She shrugged. She relived every hurt he took in her dreams, especially when things went wrong.

"So us getting closer has helped?" he asked.

She nodded. "Tikki said it would. And last night was the first time it's happened since we moved in."

He looked thoughtful, then his face blanked a little. "At its worst, how often did it happen?"

She didn't really want to tell him that. "Every two or three nights. Less often if the recent akumas were easy, more like nightly after the bad ones."

He let out a huff. "How have you balanced everything with that kind of sleep disturbance?"

"Lots of tea." Marinette shrugged. "It's a big part of why I was always late to school when we were younger, and I've had such a rigid sleep schedule. I need to make up for it where I can."

"You calmed down for me pretty quickly last night," he said. "Tikki told me that it's often harder."

"You're my Chat Noir," she said. "Any Ladybug side effects will be eased more by you than anyone else."

He nodded. "I have a suggestion, if you'd be willing to consider it."

"I'm listening," she said, curious about what he might have come up with.

"We could share a bed, even just some of the time, so I'm right there for you." His expression was sincere and she knew his motivation was truly to help her. "We could keep our own rooms, our own personal space. I'm not trying to push anything any faster than you want. It would be like having a sleepover on a regular basis."

She smiled softly at him. "You're really smart.  You know that?"

"Is that a yes?" he asked, his eyes wide and hopeful.

"It is," she agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to have this done over a week ago, but then the cold I had wouldn't die, and my asthma decided to have a party, and there was a lot of work. I then figured I'd get some writing done while spending a long weekend with the in-laws, but I forgot my laptop cable at home. Most of this was handwritten first (I never hand write stories anymore) because I was desperate.
> 
> I could easily see myself adding to this later, because it doesn't really feel finished at this point, but I need to figure out a plan for that first.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to visit me over on [Tumblr](http://freedom-shamrock.tumblr.com/). If you have constructive feedback or need to discuss an aspect of this story, I've found that sort of thing tends to work better via direct messaging or asks than the comments section here.


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